Of Lost Doctors and Metacrises
by labyrinthofsuffering11
Summary: Journey's End AU. What if the metacrisis was a version of Nine instead of Ten? How did this happen? How will this change Rose's train of thought?
1. Chapter 1

AN: Okay, so my take on this part of the story is the metacrisis developed into the previous regeneration of the Doctor, which will be explained in the next chapter. Donna will know why he was created in this version, but not all the Time Lord technology stuff until the zap still. Also, he won't be naked when he is "born" :p

Chapter 1- The New New Doctor

Every last cell in Donna Noble's body was burning. A golden light had engulfed her, strangled her, and now she felt like this was certainly the end for her.

_That stupid spaceman's hand better do somethin' useful_, she thought to herself. _I will come back and slap him into his new regeneration if I died for nothin'._

Then she felt it. The golden light started to slowly die. She could feel her toes, then her legs, then her fingers, then her arms, and finally her head. She blinked and wiggled her limbs, just to check everything was in full working order again.

She patted her head. Full head of hair was still there...but something was different. She felt...more like the spaceman.

Donna whirled around to come face-to-face with a complete stranger. He was rough and wearing a leather jacket, he kind of looked like a u-boat captain.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked.

He looked startled. "Who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?" he retorted.

"Hold on," she held up a hand to shush him. She walked towards the man and placed a hand on his chest. "Only one heart...but. You remind me of my friend."

"Only one heart? Are you my new companion?" the man asked.

"Yeah, I am," she said proudly. "You are the Doctor then! But why do you only have one heart?" she asked, brows furrowed.

He opened his mouth, but she cut him off with a hand wave again.

"Shut it, I'm thinkin'. I touched your hand, this gold light surrounded me, and then when it goes away, you're here, with only one heart...you're half human!" she realized, exclaiming.

"I was just about to explain that," the Doctor mumbled. "How d'you know all that?"

"Because," Donna announced, finally able to place her finger on what was different about her, "I'm half Time Lord."

He scoffed. "No way."

"Yes way!" she exclaimed.

"Oh," the Doctor said suddenly, "We got to keep quiet. No one knows we're here."

"Well isn't that wizard?" she asked sarcastically. Her face turned serious. "I kept hearing your single heartbeat.

"Oh, that was me," the Doctor said. "My single heart. Because I'm a complicated event in space and time. Musta rippled back, convergin' on ya."

"But why me?" Donna asked.

"Because you're special," the Doctor shrugged.

"Oh, I keep tellin' ya, I'm not," she scoffed.

"No, but you are. Oh. You really don't believe that, do ya?" the Doctor asked, sadness in his eyes. "I can see, Donna, what you're thinkin'. All that attitude, all that lip, 'cause all this time ya think you're not worth it."

"Stop it," she said sternly.

"Shoutin' at the world because no one's listenin'. Well, why should they?" he asked.

"Doctor?" Donna said hesitantly. "Stop it."

"But look at what ya did. No, it's more than that. It's like we were always headin' for this. Ya came to the Tardis. And ya found me again. Your granddad. Your car. Donna, your car. You parked your car right where the Tardis was goin' to land! That's not coincidence at all! We've been blind. Somethin's been drawin' us together for such a long time."

"But you're talkin' like destiny. There's no such thing. Is there?" she asked.

"It's still not finished," the Doctor realized. "It's like the pattern's not complete. The strands are still drawin' together. But headin' for what?" He thought for another minute. "Wait," he said, "Where's Rose?"

"She's out there with the other you," Donna said.

"She still travels with me?" he beamed.

"Oi!" she complained loudly. "You're still as lovesick over her in this regeneration, too?"

The Doctor turned bright red. "I have no idea what you're talkin' about."

She sighed. "She was travelin' with you in this new body, but ya got separated, and now she's found her way back to ya. But unless we do somethin', we're all gonna die. Earth, you, me, Rose…"

The Doctor nodded determinedly. "Right, let's put our heads together then."

…

"What is that thing?" Donna asked him. The Doctor was tinkering with some type of gizmo.

"It's our only hope," he told her. "A Z-neutrino biological inversion catalyzer."

"Not in spaceman talk, please," Donna said.

"Davros said he built those Daleks outta himself," the Doctor reminded her. "His genetic code runs through the entire race. If I could use this to lock the Crucible's transmission onto Davros himself-"

"It destroys the Daleks?" she interrupted.

"Biggest backfire in history," he confirmed. He clicked the gizmo into place. "Ready? Maximum power."

He set the TARDIS for it's course and stepped out with the fashioned weapon.

"Brilliant," Jack said.

The previous version of the Doctor ran across the floor, only to get zapped and drop to the floor in pain.

"Stop!" Rose cried frantically, wishing she could rush over and comfort him.

"Activate holding cell," Davros commanded.

Donna ran out of the TARDIS and grabbed the weapon he dropped. "Doctor! I've got it! But I don't know what to do-"

It seemed she needn't have worried, because a volt of electricity was sent her way as well, and she crumpled.

"Donna!" the Doctor called. "Are you alright?"

"Destroy the weapon," Davros said. "I was wrong about your soldiers, Doctor. They are pathetic."

"How comes there are two of ya?" Rose asked. "And how come he looks like your previous self?"

"Long explanation," the Doctor told her. "Human biological metacrisis. But never mind that right now. Now we've got no way of stopping the reality bomb."

"Stand witness, Time Lord. Stand witness, humans. Your strategies have failed, your weapons are useless, and. Oh. The end of the universe has come," Davros said, almost gloating.

"Mmm, closing all Z-neutrino relay loops using an internalised synchronous back-feed reversal loop. That button there," Donna said from the corner. She pressed a button on the panel she was thrown against from the zap.

"Donna, you can't even change a plug," the Doctor scoffed.

"D'you wanna bet, Time Boy?" she asked.

"You'll suffer for this," Davros promised.

"Oh, bio-electric dampening field with a retrograde field arc inversion," she rattled off, pressing a few more levers.

"Exterminate her!"

"Exterminate. Exterminate. Exterminate," the Daleks called. "Weapons non-functional," the said in disbelief.

"Phwor!" Donna exclaimed. "Macrotransmission of a K-filter wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix."

"How did you work that out? You're-"

"Time Lord. Part Time Lord," the previous Doctor interrupted, beaming.

"Part human. Oh, yes. That was a two-way biological metacrisis. Half Doctor, half Donna," she informed him.

"The Doctor Donna. Just like the Ood said, remember? They saw it coming. The Doctor Donna," the Doctor said in disbelief.

"Holding cells deactivated. And seal the Vault. Well, don't just stand there, you skinny boys in suits. Get to work!" she commanded.

"Stop them! Get them away from the controls," Davros commanded.

"And spin," Donna said.

The Daleks started spinning where they sat. "Help me. Help me!" they called.

"What did ya do?" the previous Doctor asked in awe.

"Trip switch circuit-breaker in the psychokinetic threshold manipulator," she said.

"But that's fantastic!" he said gleefully.

"Why did we never think of that?" the Doctor asked.

"Because you two were just Time Lords, you dumbos, lackin' that little bit of human. That gut instinct that comes hand in hand with Planet Earth. I can think of ideas you two couldn't dream of in a million years. Ah, the universe has been waitin' for me. Now, let's send that trip switch all over the ship. Did I ever tell you, best temp in Chiswick? Hundred words per minute," Donna said proudly.

"Ha!" the previous Doctor shouted.

"Come on then, boys. We've got twenty seven planets to send home. Activate magnetron," Donna said. "Ready? And reverse."

"Off you go, Clom," the Doctor said.

"Back home, Adipose Three," the previous Doctor said.

"Shallacatop, Pyrovillia and the Lost Moon of Poosh. Sorted. Ha!" Donna exclaimed.

"Ha!" the previous Doctor shouted.

"We need more power!" the Doctor shouted.

"Is anyone goin' to tell us what's goin' on?" Rose asked, her eyebrows raised.

"He poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand. I touched the hand, and he grew outta that but that fed back into me. But, it just stayed dormant in my head till the synapses got that little extra spark, kickin' them into life. Thank you, Davros! Part human, part Time Lord. And I got the best bit of the Doctor. I got his mind," Donna said.

"So there's three of you?" Sarah Jane Smith asked.

"Three Doctors?" Rose asked.

"I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now," Jack said.

"You're so unique the timelines were convergin' on you. Human being with a Time Lord brain," the previous Doctor stated.

"But you promised me, Dalek Caan. Why did you not foresee this?" Davros asked.

"Oh, I think he did. Something's been manipulating the timelines for ages, getting Donna Noble to the right place at the right time," the Doctor said.

"This would always have happened. I only helped, Doctor," Caan said.

"You betrayed the Daleks," Davros said.

"I saw the Daleks. What we have done, throughout time and space, I saw the truth of us, Creator, and I decreed, no more!"

"Oh, we've lost the magnetron," the Doctor said. "And there's only one planet left. Oh, guess which one. But we can use the Tardis." He ran into his ship.

"Holding Earth stability. Maintaining atmospheric shell," the previous Doctor grunted, holding down a lever.

"The prophecy must complete," Caan said. "I have seen the end of everything Dalek, and you must make it happen, Doctor."

"He's right," the previous version of the Doctor said. "'cause with or without a Reality bomb, this Dalek Empire's big enough to slaughter the cosmos. They've gotta be stopped."

"Just, just wait for the Doctor," Donna pleaded.

"I am the Doctor," he insisted. "Maximizin' Dalekanium power feeds. Blastin' them back!"

The Daleks started exploding, and the Doctor ran out of the TARDIS.

"What have you done?" he asked in horror.

"Fulfillin' the prophecy," the previous version said calmly.

"Do you know what you've done?" the Doctor asked angrily. "Now get in the Tardis! Everyone! All of you, inside! Run!"

"Sarah Jane! Rose! Jackie! Jack! Mickey!" the previous version of the Doctor called.

"Davros? Come with me. I promise I can save you," the Doctor said.

"Never forget, Doctor, you did this. I name you. Forever, you are the Destroyer of the Worlds!"

The Doctor closed the door to the TARDIS, shutting his eyes. "And off we go," he said.

"But what about the Earth? It's stuck in the wrong part of space," Sarah Jane said.

"I'm on it. Torchwood Hub, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?" he asked.

"Loud and clear," Gwen said. "Is Jack there?"

"Can't get rid of him," the DOctor assured. "Jack, what's her name?"

"Gwen Cooper," Jack said.

"Tell me, Gwen Cooper, are you from an old Cardiff family?" he asked.

"Yes, all the way back to the eighteen hundreds."

"Ah, thought so. Spatial genetic multiplicity."

"Oh, yeah," Rose said, grinning, as she realized who Gwen was related to.

"Yeah, it's a funny old world. Now, Torchwood, I want you to open up that rift manipulator. Send all the power to me," he instructed.

"What's that for?" Donna asked.

"It's a tow rope. Now then. Sarah, what was your son's name?" he asked.

"Luke. He's called Luke. And the computer's called Mister Smith," she informed him.

"Calling Luke and Mister Smith, this is the Doctor. Come on, Luke. Shake a leg," he called.

"Is Mum there?" Luke asked.

"Oh, she's fine and dandy," the Doctor promised.

"Yes! Yes!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Now, Mister Smith, I want you to harness the rift power and loop it around the TARDIS. You got that?"

"I regret I will need remote access to Tardis base code numerals," the computer said.

"Oh, blimey, that's going to take a while," the Doctor lamented, running a hand through his hair.

"No, no, no. Let me. K9, out you come!" Sarah commanded.

"Affirmative, Mistress," the dog said.

"Oh! Oh ho! Oh, good dog!" the Doctor approved. "K9, give Mister Smith the base code."

"Master, TARDIS base code now being transferred. The process is simple."

"Now then, you lot. Sarah, hold that down. Mickey, you hold that. Because you know why this TARDIS is always rattling about the place? Rose? That, there. It's designed to have six pilots, and I have to do it single handed. Martha, keep that level. But not any more. Jack, there you go. Steady that. Now we can fly this thing. No, Jackie. No, no. Not you. Don't touch anything. Just stand back. Like it's meant to be flown. We've got the Torchwood Rift looped around the TARDIS by Mister Smith, and we're going to fly Planet Earth back home. Right then. Off we go."

"That's really good, Jack," Donna praised. "I think you're the best."

"Good job!" Jackie exclaimed as they set Earth back in it's correct place.

The Doctor set course for Sarah Jane's house first.

"You know," she said as they walked out, "you act like such a lonely man. But look at you. You've got the biggest family on Earth."

He hugged her tightly.

"Oh! Got to go. He's only fourteen. It's a long story. And thank you!" she called.

The Doctor walked back to his crowd.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you all right?" Donna rolled her eyes at her mobile.

"I'm goin' to miss ya more than anyone," Mickey told Jackie sincerely.

"What d'you mean? The Doctor's goin' to take us home, isn't he?" she asked, confused.

"Well, that's the point," he said.

They landed at a park, and Jack and Martha walked out.

"I told you, no teleport," he said to Jack disapprovingly, breaking his teleport bracelet once more. "And, Martha, get rid of that Osterhagen thing, eh? Save the world one more time."

"Consider it done," she smiled.

They saluted him, and he waved.

"You know, I'm not sure about UNIT these days. Maybe there's something else you could be doing?" Jack asked her as they walked away.

Mickey walked out of the TARDIS next.

"Oi, where are you going?" the Doctor protested.

"Well, I'm not stupid. I can work out what happens next. And hey, I had a good time in that parallel world, but my gran passed away. Nice and peaceful. She spent her last years livin' in a mansion. There's nothin' there for me now, certainly not Rose," he said, giving him a pointed look.

"What will you do?" he asked.

"Anythin'. Brand new life. Just you watch. See ya, boss. Hey, you two!" Mickey called.

"Just time for one last trip. Dårlig Ulv Stranden. Better known as-" the Doctor told the remaining inhabitants of the TARDIS, but he couldn't finish, because he knew he had to leave Rose again. And worse still, in the same place.

"Oh, fat lot of good this is," Jackie complaining as they walked out. "Back of beyond. Bloody Norway? I'm goin' to have to phone your father. He's on the nursery run. I was pregnant, d'you remember? Had a baby boy," she told the Doctor.

"Oh, brilliant. What did you call him?" he asked.

"Doctor."

"Really?" the previous version of the Doctor asked, his nose wrinkling at the thought.

"No, ya plum. He's called Tony," she laughed.

Hold on," Rose spoke up quietly. "This is the parallel universe, right?"

"You're back home," the Doctor told her.

"And the walls of the world are closin' again, now that the Reality Bomb never happened. It's dimensional retroclosure. See, I really get that stuff now," Donna said proudly.

"No, but I spent all that time tryin' to find ya. I'm not goin' back now!" Rose protested.

"But you've got to," he said more to himself than to her. "Because we saved the universe, but at a cost. And the cost is him. He destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

"You made me!" the previous version exclaimed.

"Exactly. You were born in battle, full of blood and anger and revenge. Remind you of someone? That's me, when we first met. And you made me better. Now you can do the same for him."

"But he's not you," Rose said, her eyes filling with tears.

"He needs you," he told her. "That's very me." He walked closer to her. "Besides, what happened to all those you should just degenerate arguments, Rose? Now you can have him back?" His hearts thudded painfully at the memory.

"But I didn't mean it," she said. "I really didn't."

"But it's better than that, though. Don't you see what he's tryin' to give ya? Tell her. Go on," Donna prompted.

"I think like him, I'm the man you used to know. Same memories, same thoughts, same everythin'. Except I've only got one heart," the previous version of the Doctor said.

"Which means?" Rose breathed.

"I'm part human. Specifically, the agin' part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you, if ya want," he finished, beaming.

"You'll grow old at the same time as me?" she asked, her eyes boring into him.

"Together," he promised.

"We've got to go. This reality is sealing itself off forever," the Doctor said, the lump in his throat growing as he saw Rose look at him.

"But, it's still not right, 'cause the Doctor's still you," Rose protested.

"And I'm him." The Doctor pointed at the metacrisis.

"Alright. Both of ya, answer me this. When I last stood on this beach, on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing ya said to me? Go on, say it," she challenged, looking them both square in the eye.

"I said, Rose Tyler," he said, pleading with her silently to drop it.

"Yeah, and how was that sentence goin' to end?" she pressed.

"Does it need saying?" the Doctor asked, the tears welling in his eyes in earnest now.

She turned away from him. "And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?"

The previous regeneration of the Doctor leaned down and whispered, "I love you."

Rose pulled him to her by his leather jacket lapels and kissed him.

The Doctor looked on, his hearts constricting painfully and left with Donna to the TARDIS.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- The Consequences

Rose's lips were on his. Her lips were on his _and it was of her own accord_. The last time he had kissed her, he remembered, was to save her from the time vortex burning inside her. He was worried she would never have another day of life, and now he could spend the rest of his life with her properly.

Wait. Rose's lips were on his. What was he doing? He disentangled himself from her grasp on his lapels gently, so as not to offend her and looked at her. She was breathing heavily and her lips were red.

He heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS dematerializing, and Rose rushed out on the sand, towards the spot where it had been.

Was she aching for the TARDIS or for the other him? He was a pretty boy, after all. Everything he wished his regeneration would be, just for Rose Tyler. So, he did the only thing he knew how to do. He took her hand, and he squeezed it gently. Rose looked away from the empty spot and at their entwined hands instead. Then she looked at him.

The Doctor was uneasy, and that was because he couldn't read Rose's expressions anymore. He couldn't tell if it was because she had grown up, and learned to mask them, or if it was because he had been without her for a long time, and he had forgotten how to read them. Both options were terrifying to him, and the Doctor never admitted when he was.

"Sweetheart?" Jackie called gently behind them. He could feel her presence, and Rose's mother put her hand on her shoulder. "You alright?"

Rose dropped his hand and turned to face her mother. "Not really, mum, no." She sighed. "You know how hard we all worked on that dimension cannon, and now…"

Jackie pulled her into a tight hug. "I know, love. Your father wasn't too happy either, believe me. He's goin' to come get us in the mornin', in the mean time, we gotta find a place to stay."

Rose nodded. She turned to him finally, and said, "Right then, Doctor, let's go."

The Doctor gulped and nodded. He walked behind them quietly, until they reached a cab.

"Your father arranged to have one drive us around to look for a hotel," Jackie said.

The Doctor had so many questions about this father business. How did that happen? And how did Rose and her mother end up here anyways? But, he supposed, there was plenty of times for questions later.

He opened the door for Jackie and Rose, and Jackie expressed surprise that he had opened a door for her. Rose didn't even look at him.

They climbed into the car, Rose leaning against her mother as much as possible. He had the vague sense that she was trying to ignore him, or she was afraid of him.

The cab drove slowly through the winding beach village until they reached a small inn. Jackie climbed out, and said, "I'll be right back, you two. Just gotta check if they have some rooms."

Rose nodded. With one last weird glance at the pair of them, Jackie left.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Did I do somethin' to offend ya?" he asked.

She looked over at him. "No."

"Then why are ya avoidin' me?" he asked her point blank.

She sighed. "I don't wanna talk about it right now, alright?"

"Then when would ya like to talk about it? In case ya haven't noticed, I'm not the one who stranded you here!" the Doctor roared, his post War temper flaring up.

Rose slapped him, almost as if she did it without thinking. Then she covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I didn't mean to-"

"Save it," he said tiredly, holding up his hand. "I shouldn't have yelled at ya. I shouldn't have said that." He pulled her into his arms, and she tensed up before relaxing. "I missed you," he said quietly.

"I missed you, too," she said seriously. "Even after the regeneration."

They broke apart at the sound of someone rapping on the window. The Doctor looked up to see Jackie glaring at them.

"If you two are quite done, I got us some rooms. And don't ya go gettin' ideas in your head, Doctor," she waggled her finger at him. "There's three rooms, not two."

He couldn't help the sinking feeling in his chest. He used to cuddle with Rose sometimes on the TARDIS, why was that such a crime here?

But then he remembered Rose's reaction to him just a few moments earlier, and thought maybe it was a good idea for some space for now.

"Course ya did," he rolled his eyes. "Like a Time Lord would even have those thoughts in his head."

"Part Time Lord," Jackie said.

His mood darkened at the reminder. Almost as if she sensed his mood shift, Rose took his hand briefly and squeezed it before she dropped it once more.

She climbed out to stand next to her mother, and the Doctor followed. Jackie paid the cab driver and they walked into the hotel.

The woman in the front gave them three little keys. "Enjoy your stay, dears," she said kindly, and they thanked her.

Jackie distributed the keys, and he silently thanked her that she at least gave him the room next to Rose.

They set off for their rooms, muttering a "Goodnight."

The Doctor walked into his room. It was quite small. Definitely smaller than his room on the TARDIS. But it was cozy, the furnishings were nice, and it smelled pleasant, at least. Better than a lot of places he had stayed before. He sighed, ready to lay back on the bed and pass out.

He pulled off his boots, laid down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

…

He was awoken by a light knocking on his door. He looked out his window and saw it was still night. He wondered if it was Rose, ready to talk at last.

The Doctor stood up and opened the door. It was Rose. She looked at him shyly, a tentative smile on her face.

"I couldn't sleep," she said. "I wondered if I might come in here and talk?"

He yawned in spite of himself. "Sure."

"Did I wake you?" she asked, biting her lip in worry.

"It's fine," he assured her, and motioned for her to come in.

She sat gingerly at the edge of his bed. "So, a lot happened today," she said.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed.

"Are you...okay that I kissed you?" she asked him.

He looked at her strangely, and sat next to her, gathering her hands to his chest. "Silly, daft, fantastic girl, why would I say I loved you, and then not wanted to kiss you?"

"Well," she began, but it seemed she couldn't finish. Rose burst into tears, leaning into his jacket, and clutching onto him for support.

He pulled her into his arms like he used to, and rubbed small circles on her back. "Well, what?" he asked quietly.

"Apparently the other you loved me, too, but he couldn't say it, could he? Then he left me…" Rose trailed off. "More than once."

"What d'you mean more than once?" the Doctor growled.

"It's nothin'," she said.

"Obviously not if it's got ya upset," he pointed out.

"At the beginnin' of your new regeneration," she started, "ya took Mickey along with us on the TARDIS."

The Doctor scoffed. "That's where he messed up already."

"We landed on a spaceship that belonged to clock droids. They created portals from their ship to periods in history to harvest human parts and make them compatible to the ship. When we got there, it was pre-Revolutionary France. They were goin' to use Madame de Pompadour's brain, but they couldn't find the right maturity, so they had these windows all throughout the ship. She...fell in love with you. You kissed her. And then to to top it all off, you jumped through the last time window on a horse, with no chance to come back, and you left me and Mickey stranded. You would never live the slow path with me, but you were just fine to do it with her."

"Rose," the Doctor pleaded. "I know that was a stupid thing of him to do. But you know he loved ya. I know he tried everythin' to get back to ya. Madame de Pompadour meant nothin' to him."

She turned away from him. "You weren't there. You don't know. You were a wreck for weeks. I desperately wished for ya to come back as this you."

"But don't ya see?" the Doctor asked. "That's why I did."

"What are ya talkin' about?" she asked.

"I'm goin' to explain to ya why I came out like this," the Doctor gestured to himself. "See, I can dictate how I want my metacrisis to look, just like with regeneration. He musta seen ya cryin' over me, Rose. He musta known ya wanted me back, and so he did it for ya again. Just like I made myself a pretty boy, he did this for you."

"You did?" Rose gasped.

He nodded.

She touched his cheek. "You didn't have to do that, ya know."

He turned away and shrugged. "I did anyways. Thought ya liked pretty boys."

She laughed. "You really are daft. I like you! Whatever you look like."

"You do?" he beamed.

"Yeah," she said sincerely.

But his heart fell, because she didn't say I love you.

"I'm tired now," she announced.

"Are ya gonna stay in here?" he asked.

"Nah." She shook her head. "I think that's a bit too fast. 'sides, I don't think you want two Tyler slaps in two days."

He shuddered at the thought.

"Didn't think so," Rose smiled. "See ya in the mornin', Doctor."

"And you, Miss Tyler."


	3. Chapter 3

AN: This is just a general note to all my fanfictions currently in progress. I'm sorry if you were excited about this being a new chapter xD And I'm also sorry, because I know you're technically not supposed to post an entire chapter with just an author's note, but in this case, it was needed. I just wanted to let you guys know, I haven't died, or abandoned this fanfiction right in the middle of the chapters. I have just had final exams, work, and other obligations tying me down. But now, school is over for three months, and I'll have four days off next week from work. So, during that time, all my fanfictions will be updated if they are still in progress. Thank you for your understanding, and thank all the lovely people who have followed, favorited, and reviewed. It's you that keeps me writing :)


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'm really happy with metacrisis Nine. Like I explained before, Nine is my favorite Doctor, and even though I know Ten loved Rose as well, I feel like Nine was better at showing it sometimes. I'm excited to explore the angst and the fluffiness as he and Rose grow together.

Aftermath

Rose woke up with a fright in the morning. A terrible fear gripped at her throat that the Doctor had left her in the middle of the night, even if his version hadn't left her on purpose a day in her life. She tore off the duvet, ran towards the door, and flung it open only to be met by the part Time Lord in question.

His eyes looked shocked, but he quickly recovered. The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Good morning," he said quietly.

"I was just, uhm…" Rose trailed off trying to think of an excuse.

"I just wanted to check on ya," the Doctor said.

"Funny," she smiled, "I was on my way to do that to ya."

"Afraid I'll leave?" he joked, but when she didn't answer him, he got his answer. The Doctor gently grabbed her hand. "I'm not goin' anywhere, unless you want me to," he promised.

She smiled faintly.

"Also, I met your mother on the way in," the Doctor said, "and she wanted me to tell ya we were leavin' soon, so make sure you're awake and all your stuff is in order."

Rose nodded. "Thanks."

He hovered in the doorway, unsure if he should leave her to her privacy, or stay and be selfish.

"I'll catch up with ya later, yeah?" she asked hopefully. "I gotta take a shower still."

The decision made for him, the Doctor just nodded and turned away.

"Wait," Rose said, and he turned around immediately. She leaned towards him and planted a soft kiss to his lips. "See ya."

Rose closed the door, and the Doctor stood there more confused than he had ever been.

…..

The Tyler Estate was definitely grandiose. He had forgotten to ask Rose questions about her family life, and so now his head was swimming with unanswered questions about mansions and money, when the family used to live in the Powell Estate.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and ask, Pete started talking.

"I hope you'll be happy here," the man said. "If you need anything at all, just ask."

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

"Rose said when you're ready she'll help you set up a proper life here, and get you settled."

_A proper life? _The Doctor looked over at her and she shrugged as if sensing his question.

The car came to a stop at the driveway and a young boy about five came bounding out of the house with a red headed teenager following him.

They climbed out of the car, but no one made a move towards the door yet, and the Doctor soon saw why.

"Rosie! Momma!" the boy shouted, running straight into Rose's arms.

"Oof!" she called from the force of the hug. "Hello, Tony." She ruffled his hair affectionately, and the Doctor looked at this exchange in awe. Rose was obviously well loved. But then again, who wouldn't love her?

"Did ya find him?" her brother asked excitedly. "Did ya make it this time?"

Rose smiled sadly. "I did find him, Tony. But he left back to his own world, and he left me here, so I could stay with you," she grinned at that.

"Who's that?" Tony asked, finally noticing the Doctor behind her.

"Well," she started, "this is also the Doctor, but its my first Doctor, not the one I was looking for."

Tony climbed down from Rose's arms. He walked over to the Doctor and stared at him curiously.

"I'm Tony Tyler," he said finally, extending a small hand for the Doctor to shake.

He looked at it in amusement. "I'm the Doctor," he said, a grin he couldn't help escaping his lips.

"Do ya love my sister or not?" Tony asked, catching the Doctor off guard.

He sputtered, Rose laughed, and Jackie efficiently distracted him.

"No love for me Tony T?" his mother complained.

With Tony sufficiently distracted, Rose motioned for the Doctor to follow her into the house.

"So, that's your little brother," the Doctor stated.

"Yeah," she said. "Don't mind him, he's still in his phase of not knowin' when to shut it."

He smiled. "I can see that."

"Get's that from me, I suppose," Rose said.

"I was gonna say from our mother," he retorted.

Rose laughed, and it warmed his heart. "I suppose you're right," she acknowledged. "To the left is your room," she said, pointing at a blue door.

The Doctor opened the door she had pointed at, not quite sure what to expect. The room was large, the bed was the same size as his on the TARDIS with the same maroon sheets. He turned to face her. "Did you-"

"I may have phoned ahead this morning," she admitted. "The only work that's left is for the painters on Tuesday, they're goin' to paint the walls the same color as your sheets and we're goin' to paint the Gallifreyan in gold. Just like your old room, figured you'd miss it."

He pulled her into a hug. "Thank you," he said against her hair. "It's fantastic."

She smiled against his chest at the use of the familiar word. "My room is the exact same, too, so you should be able to find me easily."

"The only pink door with Rose in Gallifreyan on the door?" he asked, making sure his memory hadn't failed him.

"You remembered," she smiled.

"'Course I did," he huffed.

She sat down on the edge of his bed. "So, are there some things you wanna ask me?"

"Yeah," he said. "Tell me the entire story of how you and your mother got here, and how you have a father that looks exactly like your dead one."

Rose sighed. "Well, the other version of the Doctor and I got stranded in the parallel universe for a few days one time, and we ran into the parallel version of my dad. He was married to my mum here, too, but they didn't have me. Just a dog named Rose. The parallel version of my mum died in a Cybermen battle, and Mickey decided to stay behind-"

"Finally has some sense," the Doctor mumbled.

"-Then you and I went to this lab called Torchwood Institute. They hated you, and the Daleks and Cybermen appeared, with Mickey comin' back to find out where they were disappearin' to. We went up into the lab together, and you had a plan, but you said everythin' that had traveled through the breach could get stuck in the void in the process of sucking the Daleks and Cybermen back in. So, you sent all of us except for yourself into the parallel universe, includin' me. I wasn't havin' that-"

The Doctor smiled at that.

"-I jumped back to you, insistin' I was never gonna leave ya. You activated the breach, and we were holdin' onto the metal clamps, but somethin' went wrong. It was like I was travelin' towards the void and away from you in slow motion. You could only watch in horror, I could only wait to be swallowed by the cold darkness. But then Pete saved me by takin' me to the parallel world once more. He and my mother got married and had Tony. He's more successful here, he created that Vitex stuff we saw him workin' on when he-you know."

"How bad was it?" the Doctor asked. "For you, I mean."

"It was the worst feelin' I've ever had in my life," she answered honestly. "I knew you were alive, but I knew you were unreachable. Well, Pete had become head of Torchwood by this time, and he told me about a project he and some of his team were workin' on called the dimension cannon. I was so ready to greenlight it, when I remembered you said it would tear all of reality apart."

"Never selfish, are we?" the Doctor grinned.

She sighed. "Sometimes I thought about doin' it, consequences be damned, just to get back to ya."

"Is that how ya got back?" he asked.

"Well, the stars started goin' out," Rose explained, "and not just in this reality. It was everywhere. I knew I had to find ya. So, we spent days buildin' the thing, and I volunteered to test it out. You won't believe how many jumps it took to find ya."

"But you have me now," the Doctor said.

"Yeah," Rose agreed. "I have ya now."


	5. Chapter 5

AN: You guys can thank this chapter being inspired by The Scientist! I was listening to it, and the plot bunnies hit FINALLY. Thanks for your never-ending patience 3

As much as he wouldn't admit it, the Doctor was excited. Rose had promised to spend the whole day alone with him, alone, while his room was being worked on. Even though he couldn't wait to see every detail perfectly exacted in his new room, he was more on the edge because he wanted Rose Tyler all to himself. Times had not changed.

He dared a glance in the mirror at himself, then quickly chastised his mind. _When had he become so vain? _He knew exactly when: Rose Tyler had become a permanent companion on his time ship. He still felt like a ridiculous ape boy, letting his emotions skyrocket like he was in the middle of puberty. No, this just wouldn't do.

"Doctor?" a familiar voice drifted through his locked and firmly shut door.

"Yeah?" he called back non-chalant.

"You almost ready?" she asked amusedly. "Thought it only took girls this long to get ready. Don't have much hair to comb, yeah?"

He scowled at that comment, his moods dampening at the other regeneration that had apparently captivated Rose's heart.

"Be out in a mo'," he called roughly, scraping his hands over his face in long strokes. _Get it together, _he told himself, _What did you expect? Stop being jealous over yourself. _

With another sigh, the Doctor slid the lock into the horizontal position, grabbed the knob firmly and twisted. As soon as the door had opened, he lost his breath.

Rose was on the other side, looking as exquisite as ever. Dark blue t-shirt that accentuated the curves she had, denim shorts that exposed tantalizing legs, freshly washed hair with the most intoxicating scent rolling off it. Gods, she still had too much of an effect on him.

"'M sorry," he said quietly. Whether he was apologizing for staring or being late, he wasn't sure.

She shrugged, like it wasn't anything to be sorry for, and grinned at him. "You ready to go?"

The Doctor nodded. "Always ready when it has to do with you, Ms. Tyler." He flashed her his most disarming grin and offered his arm.

He could have sworn the faintest red had decorated her cheeks for a moment before her arm connected with his.

"Off we go!" she announced.

…

Rose's idea had been a trip to the Natural History Museum. Although it wasn't saving the world, he got to keep her on his arm and show off how impressive he was.

"And that," he told her, standing in front of the Ancient Egyptian display, "is a horribly inaccurate display of Nerfirtiti."

"How is it inaccurate?" she asked, turning to face him and quirking an eyebrow.

He scoffed. "For one, that bust is prob'ly the whitest skinned portrayal I've ever seen. For two, they completely skip over her reign."

"Nefirtiti reigned as a pharoah?" Rose asked.

"For twenty bloody years before King Tut!" he insisted. "But 'cause she used a diff'rent name, the scholars don't believe it was her."

She stared at him, slightly open mouthed before she rolled her eyes. "You think you're so impressive."

"I am so impressive!" he protested, just like he had answered once on their travels.

Rose's giggled at that. "Maybe we should use the sonic, an'-" but whatever she had been about to suggest was quickly stifled by the dark look that crossed in the Doctor's eyes.

Her eyes widened, realizing her mistake. "Sorry," she murmured, disentangling her arm from his and walking quickly towards the exit.

He felt so cold without her touch.

…..

Once he found her leaning against the entrance doors, he smiled brightly, trying to distract her from any topic they had been talking about before she had gone off.

"I dunno 'bout you," he said, "but I could use some ice cream. Yeah? What'dya think?"

Rose looked at him, her eyes swimming with confusion, but she nodded. "Alright."

They walked silently until she pointed out a small shop they had passed on the way in that sold ice cream.

The Doctor was determined to pay for this date. Pete had handed him a small card the night before after he was getting everything settled.

"Please use it," he said. "You need some way to get by while we get your identity and everything sorted."

At first, he was hesitant about accepting, but now he was greatful. He ordered one banana and one mint chip ice cream cone, placing them both in his hand and walking over to Rose. He offered her the mint chip variety and she smiled at him.

"Thanks," she said. "Guess you're not a cheapskate still." Her tongue poked through her teeth briefly and he counted backwards from ten trying to get himself together.

He nodded in acknowledgement and slowly brought his lips to his ice cream. He licked carefully, thoughtfully, savoring the banana taste on his tongue. Not as great as the real thing, but pretty close, he decided.

He was so busy eating his cone he didn't notice Rose stare at him, enraptured. When he did notice, he stopped self-consciously. He cleared his throat.

"Why are you starin' at me like that?" he asked.

Her face flushed. "I never noticed before that you both do that magnificent thing with your tongue," she mumbled and tucked her head into her chest.

The Doctor flushed at her comment, feeling a small wave of pride wash over him. His Rose had been staring, and it was obvious from her posture and mumbling she had liked it.

Feeling a little bolder, he reached across the table and took her hand. She looked up at him curiously, and he pulled her outside. Now, it was his turn.

The Doctor cupped her cheek in his hand, and she leaned into his touch. He smiled at that and swung his head towards hers before he could stop himself, placing his lips to hers gently.

He was afraid she would push him away, and he would be rejected again once more, but Rose made a low grumble of appreciation in the back of her throat, and tugged him closer by his jacket.

Her hands went around to the back of his head and she stroked his shorn head softly. He made a hum of contentment and she pulled away.

"Where did that come from?" she asked breathlessly.

"Your comment," he said.

She flushed again at the reminder and moved closer again hesitantly. He cradled her face and kissed her again.

"You know," she began softly. "I remember our first kiss."

He was about to be hurt she was talking about his other regeneration, until she spoke once more.

"Even though the TARDIS was there in my mind, I could still feel it in the back of my mind, and I…" she trailed off, looking at the distance.

"You?" he prompted.

"Doesn't matter," she shook her head. "Let's go then! Told dad I'd get you some clothes."

"What's wrong with the ones I have?" he frowned, accepting the change of subject, because she had always been so understanding with him.

"Nothin'," she said quickly. "But you're gonna need more than one set of clothes."

He grumbled and allowed her to tug him towards the shops.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Another chapter idea came into my head! Answering the age old question of why the ship that was cannon never became cannon. Lyrics are not owned by me, that would be the song of Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood.

Chapter 5- Why We Never Danced

A few hours of grumbling later, the Doctor stumbled into the Tyler mansion with Rose and bags of new clothes in tow.

"Still don't understand what was wrong with my own," he mumbled.

Rose sighed. "Thought you might be happy to have more than one jumper."

He nodded, resigned. "Okay, the jumpers are fine. But I don't understand the other clothes. You tryin' to make me into Captain Jack?"

"I didn't make you get suspenders or anythin'," she snickered. "It's just a few button ups, jeans, and t-shirts. Not that you don't look great in trousers," she assured him, "But thought casual might suit you sometimes."

His cheeks flamed at her comment. "Suppose it might do." He opened the door to his room, and immediately dropped his bags in astonishment.

"D'you like it?" Rose asked quietly behind him.

"Rose," he breathed, "it's…" He swallowed a lump in his throat. Wouldn't stand to let Rose see him cry. It would never do. He walked towards the nearest wall and ran his fingers along the surface almost reverently.

"I have to be a wall to get some attention, then," Rose mused. "Now it all makes sense."

He ignored her comment for a moment, because it was ridiculous that she would think that, and wondered at how his favorite human had captured his native language so exactly and beautifully.

"How did you do this?" he asked. "Did you spend an unhealthy amount of time in my room in my next regeneration?"

Her throat cleared uncomfortably at that comment. The Doctor turned to look at her. "Only when I had nightmares," she explained. "And then, when you left in the mornin' around the time I would wake up, I would stare at the wall for what seemed like ages sometimes. Tryin' to decipher what the symbols meant. The TARDIS never translated, though."

"Would you like to know what it says?" he asked her without thinking.

He could hear her breath hitch from her position. "Could you?" she asked.

The Doctor held out his hand for hers and she crossed the room quickly, latching her fingers through his. He pointed to the closest pattern of circles, dots, and swirls. "This is the promise I made to myself," he said. "Never cowardly or cruel. Never give up; never give in."

She smiled at him. "I can think of a few times you've been cowardly with me," she teased, slipping her tongue in between her teeth.

He squeezed her hand. "Only 'cause you make me more terrified than any Dalek, Rose Tyler."

She laughed at that, before turning serious once more. "But, you've never once given up or given in. The universe should be eternally grateful for you."

The Doctor was shaken once more, like he always was, when he was presented with Rose's faith in him. He placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

She pulled him by the hand towards the next section of the wall. "What's this one, then?"

"That is the name of all of my companions," he told her darkly. "So I never forget."

This time it was Rose that squeezed his hand. "We don't have to do this, if you don't want. Just talk about somethin' else, yeah?"

"I want to," he assured her. "Some day I'll tell you all about them. But for now, just the names. Susan, Barbara, Ian. Vicki, Steven, Dodo. Polly, Ben. Jamie, Victoria, Zoe. Liz, Joe, Sarah Jane. Harry, Leela, Romana. Adric, Tegan, Nyssa. Vislor, Perri. Mel, Ace. Grace. Jack, Martha, Donna. Rose," he finished finally, looking at her.

"All of them travelled with you?" she breathed, tracing her fingertips along the patterns.

"There were more," he said, "but they seared themselves onto my hearts."

"And I'm on there?" Rose asked quietly, staring at the circles once more.

"All by yourself," he said, pointing towards the circles and lines and dots that made up her name. "Surprised you didn't notice it from your door."

Her brow furrowed as she studied the spot he pointed at. "I suppose I was so busy tryin' to decipher everythin' else."

The Doctor pulled her along once more towards the next set of circles. "This is the position of Gallifrey," he said so quietly, Rose wasn't even sure he spoke at all. "I put it there so I would always remember. Not that I could ever forget."

She crushed him towards her so forcefully, the Doctor thought that he might stop breathing from the exertion. She stroked his back comfortingly and kept murmuring, "I'm sorry I made you do this, I'm so sorry."

His grip on her tightened and then he released her. "You don't have to apologize, Rose," he said sadly. "I was the one who wanted to. Might as well keep goin'."

She pulled him towards the next patch of wall, not even asking for him to elaborate on the position of his planet, and a huge surge of affection for his pink and yellow girl rushed over him. She understood him so completely sometimes that it made his head spin.

"This last bit," he said, "is somethin' I'd rather not say to you yet."

"I recognize Rose," she said next to him. "You trash talkin' me?" she teased lightly.

"No," he swallowed. "S'just somethin' so complex it's hard for me to find the words to explain in English."

He saw a flicker of recognition pass through Rose's eyes and his heart constricted painfully, fearing she might kick him out of her house and demand to never see him again.

"Is this…" she started, then paused, biting down on her lip. She tried again. "Is this how you feel?"

"Feel about what?" he asked more hoarsely than he meant.

"About me?" Rose clarified.

The Doctor dropped her hand and scrubbed his face roughly. He backed away from her and sat down hard on the bed.

"Doctor?" she said softly, crossing the room towards him. "It's okay, you can tell me."

His head remained stubbornly focused towards the floor, his lips stuck in a frown. If there was anything this body was good at, it was a brood.

Rose wasn't having it, it seemed. She lifted his chin towards her. "Please tell me," she said.

He sighed. "That's the thing," he said. "I can't. I don't know the words."

"Try?" Rose asked.

"D'you want to dance?" he asked her, holding his palm towards her.

"Dance?" she asked, her mouth frowning in confusion.

"Yeah," he said, leading her around the room slowly, like he had done in the console room so many years ago now.

"There's no music," she protested.

As if on cue, music drifted down the hallway towards the Doctor's open doorway.

"_And if I may just take your breath away_

_I don't mind if there's not much to say_

_Sometimes the silence guides our minds_

_So move to a place so far away_

_The goose bumps start to raise_

_The minute that my left hand meets your waist"_

The Doctor was reminded of a place faraway now, back on the TARDIS the last time he had danced with Rose. She was giving off so many hormones that it made him dizzy, that it made him possessive and giving off telepthic waves of 'hands off the blonde, Jack'.

He wasn't sure if he still had the Time Lord senses to know if Rose was still attracted to him, like that. _She had to be_, he warred with himself. _She wouldn't kiss you if that was the case. _

To test his Time Lord senses theory, the Doctor slipped his hand a little higher up Rose to her waist, and he could taste the spike of desire in the air.

Rose blustered about something, and before he could react, she was pushing away from him, heading towards his door.

He kicked the bed in frustration at himself.

…..

A small knock sounded on his door later that night, and the Doctor sighed.

"Come in," he called out.

The door opened to reveal Rose standing there, jim jams on, and her eyes red rimmed like she had been crying.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I should be the one apologizin'," he said gruffly. "I made you run away."

She sighed and sat down on the bed. "I ran away 'cause I was confused."

"Confused?" he asked.

"I loved you for a long time before you regenerated," Rose said to him. "But then, you did regenerate. I had to fall in love with you all over again. Now it's makin' my feelings all wrong and confusin'. I love you both, and my heart and my mind are havin' a hard time makin' this," she gestured between the two of them, "okay."

His face twisted into hurt, and he saw her frown at herself.

"I didn't mean it like that," she assured. "I just need some time to figure out what exactly my heart is doin'. That's not to mean I didn't enjoy the kissin' 'cause I did. I love you, and I mean that. But anythin' else still sort of feels like a betrayal since you both look like two different men. You _are _two different men in a way. I always felt that way, even after the regeneration. I loved you both differently for your differences."

He sighed, and held out his arms towards her. "I don't want to rush you into anythin', Rose. Come here."

Rose obliged quickly, tucking herself into his chest. "Can I stay here tonight?" she asked, her voice a bit muffled by his jumper.

"Course you can," he said easily. "I'm sorry about earlier, I wasn't tryin' anythin', promise," he told her, "just still a daft Time Lord in here that doesn't know for sure that you love him."

"So, you thought if my body gave off responses, it would mean I was interested in you?" Rose asked, surprising him that she knew him so well.

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry."

"Next time, just ask, daft man," Rose said. "And obviously, if you couldn't tell from my little escape earlier, I am."

He hummed placatingly.

"Doctor?" she asked. "I just...was wonderin', how long you felt like this?"

"I think it honestly started when I took your hand and said 'Run!'. It didn't fully develop then, but I had already started fallin' for a shopgirl from London."

She smiled at him brightly. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said thickly. "Really."

"So, how comes you never made a move on the TARDIS, in either form? I mean, the tension was so thick, Jack was aways jokin' he couldn't cut it by shaggin' a million people across the galaxy."

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Dancing for Time Lords isn't the same as it is for humans."

"We not compatible, then?" Rose asked.

"No," he scoffed. "Time Lord biology is superior and can evolove to accomodate any species. 'Sides, 'm human now, aren't I?"

She blushed at that.

"No, it wasn't that. Dancing for Time Lords is a largely telepathic experience, 'cause we are a telepathic species. That is, if we want the dancin' to go any sort of right."

"Right?" she asked confusedly. "How d'you mean?"

"I could dance with anyone I wanted to, Rose. But that doesn't mean it would be any sort of pleasureable, or any sort of emotional."

"So, for dancin' to be nice for you lot, it has to be in your heads?" she asked.

"No," he huffed. "That's not all of it. There are three things. Physical, emotional, and mental."

"We didn't have all three?" Rose asked, looking hurt.

"It's not like that. I didn't want to try anything telepathic with you after the look on your face when I told you my ship had gotten into your head, that wasn't a pleasant experience."

"There was also Cassandra," she grumbled.

"I didn't want you to associate telepathy with bad experiences, 'cause it's not, Rose. It's beautiful, it's fantastic. The mental connection has to be established before we even go about dancin'. We have to know each other fully through our mental connection."

Rose flopped onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "We didn't dance 'cause you were worried I wouldn't want you in my mind?"

"There's that, and somethin' else."

"What's the somethin' else?" she asked.

"Dancin' for my people was also somethin' that wasn't taken lightly. We didn't reproduce like that. We had these things called Looms. But I, I was the exception. I was created by my parents dancin'."

"So, what does dancin' mean for your people?" she asked him.

"It means you are absolutely sure that person is your soulmate, that your forever is with them, and you can never dance with anyone again, even after they die. They know your real name."

"You didn't 'cause you were afraid we might get separated one day," Rose realized. "Does it hurt to be away from each other, is that why?"

The Doctor took a shaky breath. He laid down next to Rose and turned her to face him. "It's the worst pain you can ever imagine, 'cause your minds will be bonded. I knew one day I would lose you, either accidentally or purposely. It would be agony, Rose. Let's say I dropped you off because you decided you wanted domestics finally, and you tried to dance with another pretty boy, you would be in so much pain, and so would I. As selfish as I was, and possessive, I could never do that to you."

She smiled at that. "You really don't know how much you mean to me," she said. "When I promised you forever, I meant it, daft half-alien. I wouldn't hurt you like that. Besides, it's my choice, isn't it?"

The Doctor placed his hand on her cheek. "Precious girl," he murmured.

Rose closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his. She pulled away from him. "You wouldn't be lonely anymore?" she asked.

"What?" he asked confusedly. "I'm already not lonely, I've got you."

"I meant in your mind," she clarified. "You wouldn't be lonely if we had a telepathic connection."

"Rose, you don't know what you're asking," he warned.

"I do, though, Doctor. I made my choice a long time ago. I'm not sayin' I want to do anythin' tonight, 'cause I'm still confused. But soon, we can start establishing it, if you want."

He beamed at her with everything that he had and said, "Rose Tyler, I've never wanted anythin' more in my life than you."


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Two chapters in one day, what? I blame Nine and Rose for being so adorable together. I haven't been able to decide whether I wanted to make this rated M later, what do you all think? If I did, it would be way later in the sotry as they are still figuring out how to react around each other, and as the Doctor explained, that mental connection has to be established too!

Chapter 6- Torchwood Tower

The Doctor was woken by a loud rap on the door.

"Rose, Doctor! Get a shift on, will you? Gotta be into Torchwood in an hour," Pete called from the other side of the door.

Rose? Why would he be asking about Rose in his room? It was then the Doctor was made aware of Rose pressed against his chest, hair mussed and mouth open slightly. Ah.

"Rose," he said gently. "We haveta wake up. Your dad's been callin' for us."

"Mmph," she said.

"I see we're still not a mornin' person," he chuckled. He placed a kiss to her cheek and pulled the duvet off her sleeping form to pull her off his chest.

"What?" she grumbled. Then she realized where she was and blushed. "Hello."

"Hello," he acknowledged. "Your dad said we have an hour till Torchwood."

At that, Rose jumped from the bed and scrambled towards the door. "I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast! Make sure you put on a button up!"

The Doctor sighed and moved towards his en suite to splash some water on his face. He wasn't looking forward to this Torchwood place Pete worked at. He didn't like the prospect of walking into the very place that had separated Rose from his other self. She assured him that Pete had remade this Torchwood, and it was nothing like the one they had walked into in her universe, but he still had his doubts.

Maybe he could slip away for a quick observation later.

The other thing was this whole button up concept. He was a no nonsense person, and he certainly didn't want to bother with buttons. It's why he wore trousers and a jumper. He didn't even button his jacket!

Rose told him last night that he had to wear the button up because they had some sort of semblance of a dress code at Torchwood, and that did not include a jumper and leather jacket.

The Doctor stared at the offending garment hanging in his closet. He plucked the maroon one closest to his favorite jumper color and held it by the sleeve like it might bite him.

He sighed and slipped off his jumper and slid his arm into the button up's sleeves. He set about the annoying task of buttoning the buttons all the way to the collar, and deciding against buttoning even one more pesky button, rolled the sleeves up to his elbows instead. He shed his usual trousers and slipped into the ones Rose had suggested the night before, adding the belt she had handed him from Pete's closet and groaned at his reflection.

He looked like a right tosser.

The Doctor stubbornly decided he was keeping his boots, and nothing Rose Tyler said or did would make him change those.

He made his way down the stairs towards the Tyler kitchen, which much to his annoyance was already occupied by the domestic buzz of conversation, sizzling bacon, and Jackie Tyler fussing. The entire chaos from moments ago stopped when he walked intot the room.

Jackie stared at him open mouthed, arm frozen in mid stretch to fix Tony's hair; Pete paused mid sentence to Rose, a piece of toast hanging from his mouth; Tony had milk dribbling down his chin; and Rose swallowed audibly and said "You look different."

It was as if those words had broken the spell. Jackie said, "I'll say," and the kitchen went back to the cacophony from before.

"I told you this was a bad idea," he grumbled to Rose as he sat down.

"Why?" she asked. "I think you might have stopped mum breathin' for a second."

His lips twitched into a grin. "Too bad it wasn't longer."

Rose swatted his arm playfully. "Watch it!"

Jackie piped up, "I heard that!"

Pete set a plate of breakfast in front of him and he ate gratefully.

…

"You can be yourself," Rose promised him as they stepped out of the car. "Torchwood knows about you, since it's been our only project for five years."

"Don't understand why I had to wear this bloody button up then," he grumbled.

"I bet Jake 5 pounds I couldn't get you in it," Rose admitted, laughing.

"So glad I won you your bet," he joked. "You coulda just said that instead of sayin' it was dress code."

"We do have a dress code," Rose said indicating her father and herself. "Just not you, 'cause you don't work here, unless you want to."

His nose crinkled in distaste at the thought of a job. "I dunno yet."

Rose took his hand. "You don't have to decide today. Let's go."

As soon as they stepped into the building, a man sidled up to them, thickly gelled blonde hair and swagger. "I can't believe you actually did it!" he spluttered. "From what you said about him, thought he would never agree to the button up!"

"Yeah, well that's 'cause you underestimate the wyles of Rose Tyler, Jake Simmonds," she told him. "Now, pay up."

He shook his head. "Guess I know never to bet with you again, mate."

"Got that right," Rose grinned, holding her hand out expectantly.

Jake reluctantly handed over the note and she kissed his cheek. "Thanks!"

"What was all that about?" the Doctor asked when they had gotten out of earshot.

"I told you 'bout the bet," Rose said.

"I meant the kiss on the cheek thing," he mused.

She shrugged. "We're good mates. Hung out with him and Mickey a lot from workin' together all the time."

"Hmm," was all the Doctor said, mouth in a tight line.

"Don't worry," she assured him. "They already know I'm in love with an incredibly jealous Time Lord." She slipped him her tongue in teeth grin.

He squeezed her hand. "Good."

"Good?" she asked.

"Yeah."

…..

Creating a whole identity for himself had been a more extensive process than the Doctor ever remembered. First there was a business of choosing a legal name. It seemed you couldn't go around on Earth known as just 'the Doctor', especially not when you were going to be hanging around the wealthiest family in this universe.

Doctor John Smith was decided on, and then it had been a blur of papers. Social security, driver's license, college degrees in case he ever wanted a job that needed proper credibility.

Rose had gone missing from the room, which seemed incredibly worrying to him, even though Pete kept assuring him she was just downstairs working with the team on disassembling the dimension cannon project, and that the Doctor could join her as soon as this was done.

The niggling feeling about this building seemed to be screaming through his head, and then a blaring siren sounded.

Pete froze and dropped the papers he had been working on, the Doctor grabbed the desk to yank himself up so hard that he was sure it would topple without Pete there. They bolted out the door side by side, and all that kept running through his mind was his jeopardy friendly companion Rose Tyler, and what she could possibly do at her own place of work.

Behind the door was complete chaos. "Honestly, Jonathon! I told you not that lever!" Rose shouted clearly above the din.

"Sorry! I thought it was the right one!"

"Yeah, well now you've let a bloody thing from beyond the breach into the room!" she exclaimed.

"I've got it, Rose," an annoyingly charming voice said smoothly.

The Doctor batted the papers in his face away roughly and crossed the room.

A pretty boy was standing protectively in front of Rose, his weapon drawn and pointing at the thing in question she had been referring to.

"I can take care of myself, thanks, Chase," she said firmly. "And put that thing away, honestly. It's not dangerous, just goin' to be a lot of paperwork. Did you forget who crossed dimensions for five years by herself while you lot sat in the office manning the computers?"

The Doctor beamed with pride as the pretty boy dropped his weapon and Rose stepped away to talk to the creature on the floor in front of them.

The creature in question looked frightened by it's surroundings. It was small, only about 1 foot long and looked like a blue lizard with rainbow scales. The Doctor had never seen anything like it before, which meant it had to exist only in one of the dimensions he had never visited.

She sat down and crossed her legs to talk to it. "Hi there, sweetheart," she said. "You alright?"

"Rose?" the creature questioned.

"Oh, you do remember me!" she said excitedly. "How long's it been for you?"

"Only a month," the creature said. "Did you find him, Rose? The Doctor?"

"I did!" She beamed. "Come over here, Doctor."

He crossed the room to her curiously and dropped to the floor beside her. "Hello!" he greeted.

"Doctor," Rose began, "this is Rena, she's a Calaxter. They're from a planet that doesn't exist in either of the dimensions you've seen."

Rena bowed her head in greeting. "I am honored to meet you, Doctor. Rose spoke very highly of you."

He turned to Rose, his eyebrows raised and she blushed.

"Did she?"

"Yes. She is also very revered in our planet. She saved us, even though she could have left us to find you. You are more important than the Calaxter. You save entire galaxies and timelines, you never ask for anything in return."

"That's my Rose," he murmured. "She's very fantastic, isn't she?"

"Oh, yes!" Rena agreed.

"We're gonna get you back home," Rose promised. "It was an accident you ended up here. We were tryin' to close all the gates the dimension cannon opened, and Jonathon held down the wrong lever."

"I am glad to see you again anyways," Rena said. "I know you'll get me home again, Rose Tyler."

"Right!" said the Doctor jumping up. "Let's get to work then, Rose!"

…..

Hours later, they made it back to the Tyler mansion, completely exhausted. It had been a long day, but they had managed to get Rena back home, and the Doctor was delighted to meet a new species and had chatted back and forth the entire day.

It reminded him of home, their home. Saving the day, meeting new species.

But now, he was just glad to be with Rose. She groaned and flopped onto his bed, kicking off her shoes.

"You never cease to amaze me, Rose Tyler," he told her honestly.

"What d'you mean?" she said.

"Saving planets, even while you were looking for me."

She scoffed. "I couldn't just leave them. They needed help, Doctor."

"I know," he said. "That is one of the many things that led me to askin' you to travel with me twice. You save everyone you meet, Rose."

She looked at him, grinning. "Even you?"

"Especially me," he said. He flopped next to her and took her hand in his.

"You know," Rose said, "you do look great in that shirt."

"Really?" the Doctor asked teasingly. "Great enough you'd want me to wear it to Torchwood every day?"

She turned towards him. "Does this mean you want the job?"

"As long as I get to work with you," he said.

She kissed him on the lips. "Rose Tyler's wyles have struck again."

"It might also have to do with what you wear to work," he whispered in her ear.

He could feel the blush spring to her cheeks. She slapped him.

"Cheeky! Watch yourself, mister!"

He laughed and pulled her close to his chest. Maybe Torchwood wasn't as bad as he thought.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I'm so glad everyone enjoys Meta!Nine as much as I do. I really enjoyed my reviews for the last two chapters, they made my bad day better! Thanks to Purple Guest :) You'll have to give me a way to reply to your reviews to not make the author's note so long! I have been trying to get around to that with all my long reviews. Now, without further ado, the story! Erm, yeah, this is where the rating goes up because I am super, super paranoid. Also, we got some good jealous Doctor stuff lined up for you!

Chapter 8- Just You and Me Again

The Doctor smiled when he woke up to the feel of Rose Tyler pressed against him for the second morning in a row. He wondered why they hadn't done this more often back on the TARDIS, it was really quite comfortable and his dreams seemed to keep themselves under control.

The girl in question stirred from her slumber and blinked up at him. A slow, sleepy grin streatched across her face. "Hello," she murmured.

He smiled just as brightly back at her. "Hello."

"Ready for work?" she asked, reaching to pull the duvet down.

"No," he muttered, stilling her hands. "Stay just a few more moments," he insisted, fixing her with what he knew was his best puppy dog look in any regeneration.

She sighed. "Okay. But no more than five minutes."

The Doctor hummed happily and curled his fingers against her sides. He breathed in the scent of her shampoo, orange and vanilla and faint traces of banana.

"Where did you find that?" he asked curiously.

"Find what?" she asked confusedly.

"The shampoo," he explained. "It's a weird combination."

Rose shrugged. "It's not here."

"Like it," he told her, nuzzling his nose against her hair.

He heard her suck in a sharp breath of air, and reach to stroke the short hairs on the top of his head gently.

He made a noise of contentment as her fingers scraped against the shorn surface. Just as he felt himself start to drift off again, a tentative knock sounded against the door. Rose jumped, and the mood was broken.

"Rose? Doctor?" Pete called. "You up?"

"Yeah!" Rose called back. "Was just about to get dressed."

"Okay, just hurry," he said. "Chase said there was an emergency at Torchwood."

The Doctor's mood darkened at the thought of the pretty boy who had jumped to defend his Rose yesterday with the dimension cannon mishap.

Rose dropped a chaste kiss to his cheek, startling him from his reverie. "You can wear your regular clothes for today, if you want, Doctor."

"Thought we had a dress code?" he asked.

"Pete will make an exception."

The Doctor thought back to Chase and Rose's reaction to his own button-up shirt yesterday. "Nah, it's okay. Don't want those employees thinkin' I'm gettin' special treatment just 'cause I'm with the director's daughter." He flashed her a grin.

She winked cheekily at him. "That would be the exact reason. But, no complaints from me," she said, getting up from the bed. "You know I liked the shirt yesterday."

….

The Doctor grasped Rose's hand firmly as they walked into Torchwood Tower. On the ride over, Pete had quickly debriefed them with what Chase's so called emergency was. Apparently, an unknown race of aliens had been grouping not far from the center of London, and so, it was their job to track them down and sort them out.

He said they would briefly touch base in the tower, gathering their equipment and their team, then they woud head out to the address the group of aliens was suspected to be using as a sort of headquarters.

Now, as they walked into level 7, which Rose informed him would become his second home in the next few months, he felt his nerves set on edge. Honestly, this whole team nonsense was ridiculous to him. When it was just Rose and himself, they saved whole worlds. Using nothing more than a screwdriver and a bit of charm.

Then, he saw the problem. No sonic to do jiggery-pokery with. That would have to be remedied immediately. Maybe he could talk Pete into letting him experiment in his downtime?

The mood shifted instantly when Rose opened the door. The assembled team beamed at her in greeting then turned their gazes to the Doctor, scrutinizing him mroe than he was comfortable with. He cleared his throat.

"Heard we have an alien headquarters to check out," he spoke up.

It was as if those were the magic words. The group went into action, diverting their attention to more important matters like the right types of equipment and plans, and not why their team had acquired a half Time Lord.

"Right," Chase said, "way I see it, we go 'round back, take over them that way."

The Doctor smirked. "Through the back? What about the other entrances?"

"What about the what?" the man asked, turning to grimace at him.

"You know, the other entrances to the buildings? What if the aliens try to escape? Who's gonna catch them? You, single-handedly?"

Rose tried to hide a laugh behind a cough, and he had the suspicious feeling Chase had pulled this sort of bravado before. Well, not on his watch. He would be damned if Rose was in danger because this idiot didn't know how to cover his entrances.

"Right," the man mumbled. "We'll do as the Doctor says. Jake, Doctor; you'll take the front. Jonathon, Lacey; the side. Me and Rose, we'll take the back."

The Doctor's jaw clenched, but Rose shook her head at him.

Chase continued, "We're going to have Rose and I bring up the back with the MP-300's, just in case. Jonathon and Lacey, you take the security monitors, let me know if you spot anything unusal before we head in there. Doctor and Jake, you're going to bring up the front with the detonators."

Detonators? Was this Henrick's now? "Hold on," the Doctor said, holding up his hand. He saw Chase look at him in annoyance.

"_What_?" he ground out.

"Why are we bringin' the detonators if you said we don't know how hostile they are? For all we know, they just need a bit of negotiatin'."

"Yeah, well, I prefer to attack first, ask questions later," Chase huffed.

"That's what I thought," the Doctor muttered under his breath. "And you bring your team into this whole tom-foolery, d'you?"

Rose sighed and motioned to the others. "Let's go, let them fight out the testosterone." She grabbed her gun from the table and walked towards the lift.

…

In the end, it was the Doctor that got them into the mess he worried about now mixing Rose up with.

The aliens were this universe's version of Autons, so he hadn't been to far off with Henrick's. Only, they had nothing controlling them. They were a living plastic all on their own without a consciousness.

Everything had started out smoothly. Everyone took their positions. Rose gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and she even kissed him on the lips.

Things quickly turned to hell after that. The Doctor asked to speak to the leader, but the Autons were having none of that, it seemed.

Rose and Chase burst into the room with their guns a blazing, trying to shoot anything that tried to make contact with the team. He had never been more annoyed at himself in his life.

The Doctor saw the Auton reach for Rose before anyone else did, and before he could let out a warning, it had her in a sort of headlock.

Rose, the brilliant human that she was, stopped struggling immediately. She knew that if she struggled, it would choke her all the more. Fear gripped the Doctor's heart, at the thought of not having Rose Tyler alive, at the thought of never spending his life with her.

He quickly made a decision. "Everyone out," he barked out. "I'm linin' up the detonators."

"Bet you're real glad I-" Chase started to brag.

"Shut it right now," the Doctor said coldly. "It's not the time or place. Get the whole team out now."

"What about Rose?" he asked.

"I'm perfectly capable of gettin' her myself, thanks."

Chase nodded curtly at him, and motioned for the team to follow him out of the building.

With the distractions gone, the Doctor rounded on the Auton. "As for you, you're goin' to let Rose Tyler go right now."

As if in defiance, the grip around her neck tightened, and Rose's cheeks started to turn red.

"Rose," he said calmly. "I'm goin' to move towards you on the count of three. I want you to hand me your gun. Alright?"

She nodded.

The Doctor moved towards her slowly. "One," he began.

She held out two fingers for him, and he moved to where he could grab the gun from her grip.

"Three!" he exclaimed, grabbing the gun and pointing at the Auton in one swift motion. He aimed for the head of the alien and blew it off, causing the arm to drop from Rose, and she fell to the ground taking some deep gulps.

"I'm so sorry," he said to her, rushing to her side in an instant.

"Not your fault," she said, waving him off.

"I could have gotten you all killed," he pointed out.

She didn't say anything to agree or disagree with his statement. "Just you and me again," she said. "That's somethin' to be happy for. You said somethin' about a detonator, Doctor. Let's worry about that, first. Don't want these aliens gettin' all over London again. Dealin' with them once was enough for me."

He nodded and reached into his jacket pocket for the small detonator from Torchwood. He turned it on and attached it to the wall closest to them. "Okay, Rose. This is the part where we run for our life!" He gave her a manic grin that she matched, and they just made it to the entrance when the building blew to smithereens behind them.

The trip report would later said they were grinning like the biggest idiots you had ever seen, gripping each other's hand tightly.

…...

They finally made it back to the Tyler estate at ten o' clock that night. They were both exhausted, and the only way they made their escape so early was a promise of double paperwork duty tomorrow, and going out for drinks with the whole team to celebrate some other night.

The Doctor sighed in relief when the estate was in sight. He pulled Rose straight up to his room as soon as she had given her mother a hug goodnight and told her where Pete was.

He collapsed on the bed, without bothering to kick off his shoes first. Rose was more polite than that. She slipped her shoes off before laying beside him.

"Would you like to tell me what's gotten into you?" she asked carefully, calmly.

"Chase," he said tersely.

"I was afraid of that," she sighed. "You're honestly the worst at dealin' with jealousy, Doctor. I told you, everyone knows that I love you."

His breath caught at her statement, but he still managed to reply moodily. "It doesn't seem he's got the memo though, has he?"

"What on Earth are you talkin' about?" she asked exasperatedly.

"He thinks he can just waltz in an' save you, Rose. That's supposed to be-"

"What?" she asked softly. Turning towards him, she placed a hand on his cheek. "Supposed to be what?"

"My job," he said hoarsely.

"I'm flattered that you think you have to be my alien in shinin' armor," she teased, "but Doctor, I am okay without you havin' to act like a bloody idiot."

"But I _need _you," he whispered. "I don't know if I can lose you again."

"Look at me," she said.

He sighed and turned towards her.

"I get it. I don't want to lose you either. But you've got to trust me, that I know what I'm doin'. You have to respect Chase, even if you don't like him. Like it or not, he's the team leader. I know that's a hard concept for you to grasp, because you're used to bein' in charge, but he calls the shots here at Torchwood. You can't go against his orders like that, or you'll wind up gettin' us all killed one day. Also remember, and I know I was guilty of this at first, the aliens here could act differently than in this world. Treat them like any new alien species you encounter."

"I'll try," was all he huffed.

She smiled at him with her tongue in between her teeth. "Now, kiss me, you thick alien."

The Doctor happily obliged, pressing his lips to Rose's. Her heartbeat increased, and he was content knowing that he was the only man that could make her react this way. He just needed a little reminding sometimes, especially when it came to pretty boys.


End file.
